One voter said he voted for Kamala Harris because he saw her as strong and “borderline cocky,” which is what he felt she needed to deal with Trump. 

“It was busy at 7 a.m. I’m not hearing of lines anywhere,” Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips said at a noon update of polling locations across the county.

Early Tuesday morning in Bartlett at St. Ann Catholic Church and School at 6529 Stage Road, voters didn’t have to endure much of a wait time.

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty blitzed Second Baptist Church in East Memphis and The Great Hall in Germantown Tuesday morning, Nov. 5, just ahead of a late morning rain.

At Whitehaven Community Center, a steady patter of foot traffic was in and out around 8 a.m.

State House District 97 candidate Jesse Huseth showed up around 10 a.m. to greet the small number of voters shuffling in and out of the Bert Ferguson Community Center in Cordova.

DeSoto County residents successfully submitted more than 18,000 ballots during the early voting period. 

There were lots of cars around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Glenview Community Center, where people were streaming in after the night shift and before the day shift.

Voters trickled in and out of Balmoral Presbyterian Church when polls opened early Tuesday morning. There was no line at the church, at 6413 Quince Road, as of 7:30 a.m. 

Follow The Daily Memphian’s blog for live updates from the polls and voting results on Election Day 2024.

Related content: 

Shelby County full election results

Voting results could be late, election chief warns

What to watch for in the presidential general election returns

Election Day comes after a 14-day early voting period in which 257,515 voters cast ballots at 26 locations across Shelby County. Polls are open at 142 precincts across Shelby County as of 7 a.m. today.

Here is everything you need to know about voting Tuesday, Nov. 5, in Shelby County from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

Here’s what to look for in the election day returns beyond who wins and who loses, especially Shelby County’s role as the county with the largest bloc of voters for both parties.

Partisans on both sides were still rallying voters to turn out on the Tuesday, Nov. 5, presidential general election day with similar appeals but with very different motivations and beliefs.

The incumbent alderman should easily cruise to victory Tuesday night because no one decided to challenge him for his second term in Position 4. It will be his second term.

Neither former President Donald Trump nor Vice President Kamala Harris has campaigned in Shelby County, but both have local headquarters that offer a peek at the mindset of voters in a non-battleground state.

Two challengers are facing Position 6 Alderman Kevin Quinn in Bartlett’s only contested race on Tuesday’s ballot. Kenneth Hayes and Josh McNeil are looking to unseat the incumbent.

Early voting had its biggest turnout (excluding absentee ballots) on Halloween — the final day of the 14-day early-voting period. It is still behind the pre-election day turnout four years ago.

Clay Bailey says, “The barrage of campaign ads inflicted on us for the past several months should be coming to an end in the next couple of days. Quite a relief, wouldn’t you say?”

Although no MSCS schools are being used as voting sites this year, MSCS schools are still closed for students Tuesday. 

The last day to vote early in the presidential general election is Thursday, Oct. 31. Here’s a look at turnout so far and comparisons to other elections in this cycle.

Related content:

Why schools are closed on Election Day

Democratic and Republican partisans met Saturday, Oct. 26, on the parking lot of the county’s most popular early voting site while Trump supporters waved banners on Poplar Avenue. Four days of early voting remain.

Germantown Alderwoman Sherrie Hicks is completing her first term in Position 3 on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and is unopposed for reelection.

The last weekend of early voting comes with the use of statewide campaign tours to boost candidates in district and statewide races.

Also, Tennessee Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty push claims of noncitizens voting in a new call for federal officials to act despite evidence voter purges in other states are removing citizens entitled to vote.